Handle for winding a tape measure

ABSTRACT

A crank handle for driving a tape drum of a tape measure is pivotally mounted on an accessible side flange of the drum for movement between a rest position nested in a recess of the flange and a protruding winding position. The pivoting shaft of the crank handle is disposed in an eccentric groove in the underneath face of the flange, this groove having a central portion communicating with the recess. The crank handle is mounted for rotation about and limited sliding movement along a second shaft, and preferably houses spring means biasing it towards the pivoting shaft to hold it in either the rest or winding position.

United States Patent [191 Quenot Jan.7,1975

[ HANDLE FOR WINDING A TAPE MEASURE [75] Inventor: Michel Quenot, Besancon, France [73] Assignees Stanley-Mabo, Besancon, France [22] Filed: Sept. 10, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 395,993

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Sept. 15, 1972 France 72.32904 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4/1913 Lewis et al 74/547 X 2/1920 Graham 2/1938 Berg 74/547 3,686,767 8/1972 Duda .4 242/848 X Primary Examiner-Billy S. Taylor Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Prutzman, Hayes, Kalb & Chilton [57] ABSTRACT A crank handle for driving a tape drum of a tape measure is pivotally mounted on an accessible side flange of the drum for movement between a rest position nested in a recess of the flange and a protruding winding position. The pivoting shaft of the crank handle is disposed in an eccentric groove in the underneath face of the flange, this groove having a central portion communicating with the recess. The crank handle is mounted for rotation about and limited sliding movement along a second shaft, and preferably houses spring means biasing it towards the pivoting shaft to hold it in either the rest or winding position.

7 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTED 3.858.823

sum 1 OF 2 1 HANDLE FOR WINDING A TAPE MEASURE The invention relates to devices for driving the tapedrums of tape measures.

Known tape measures include a crank pivotally mounted on the outer face of a flange of the tape drum, the flange having a recess for receiving the crank which can be pivoted by 180 between a rest position and an operative position. An inner end of the crank carries pins which pivotally engage in corresponding holes in side walls of the said recess. An outer end of the crank carries a button or handle which, in the rest position, is lodged in a housing provided in the bottom of the said recess. Such a housing must be deep enough to ensure that in the rest position the outer surface of the crank lies flush with the outer face of the flange, i.e., without forming any unwanted projection. To facilitate driving, the button or handle is generally rotatably mounted about a shaftperpendicular to the crank. A spring is also generally provided and acts on part of the crank near its pivoting axis to bias the crank into either its rest or operative position.

These known devices have numerous constituent parts and assembly thereof is complicated. Firstly, the button or handle must be mounted on the crank, then the crank and button or handle must be fitted on the flange, previously provided with a recess and a housing of sufficient depth for the button or handle. To ensure that the force required for driving the tape drum is not too great, the button or handle, when in the operative position, is preferably located near the periphery of the drum. The pivoting axis of the crank is consequently often placed near to or at the center of the flange. This, however, can be inconvenient, notably when the flange and drum are in two parts connected together by a central screw which is thus located under the crank and its biasing spring. If, for any reason, the tape measure has to be dismantled, the crank must be removed to have access to the central assembly screw.

An object of the invention is to provide a simplified drum winding device which overcomes or avoids the above-indicated drawbacks and/or inconveniences, and which has a low number of constituent parts that can be easily assembled.

The device according to the invention is characterized in that a crank handle has a pivoting shaft inserted in an elongate groove provided in an inner surface of the flange. This groove has a central part, eccentric to the axis of the drum, which opens into a recess in the outer face of the flange, said recess being shaped and dimensioned to receive the winding handle in its rest position. The winding handle is rotatably mounted on a second shaft mounted on said pivoting shaft for pivotal movement about its axis, said second shaft extending perpendicularly from the central part of the pivoting shaft into said recess. The crank handle and its second shaft can be pivoted about the axis of the pivoting shaft between a first or rest position in which the crank handle and second shaft are lodged in said recess and a second or driving position in which the crank handle and second shaft protrude from the outer surface of the flange, with the second shaft parallel to the axis of rotation of the drum.

The device according to the invention has the following main advantages:

The pivoting shaft of the crank handle can be freely and easily inserted in the groove in the rear face of the flange, without it being necessary to slide or otherwise place this shaft in holes. A separate crank is also eliminated, since the crank handle is directly mounted on the flange (which acts as crank) and requires a movement of only between its rest and operative positions.

The recess for the crank handle is simplified, and does not need to be particularly deep.

The device is not only simple, but robust since the pivoting shaft can be disposed so that it is not submitted to shearing forces during driving of the drum. The crank handle and the flange are preferably in a molded plastic material whereas the shafts are preferably in metal.

The crank handle is preferably slidably mounted along said second shaft, and biased towards its pivoting shaft by spring means tending to hold the crank handle and second shaft in either the rest or the operative position. The pivoting shaft can include a central cubic body from two opposite faces of which the pivoting shaft protrudes. The second shaft protrudes from another face of the cubic body, against which a part of the crank handle can rest in the operative position. The said groove has a corresponding enlarged central part receiving the central cubic body of the pivoting shaft. An outer edge of the recess can form a stop for limiting pivoting of the crank handle and second shaft into the operative position, after a 90 movement from the rest position. The crank handle can be wider than the said cubic body and the corresponding enlarged part of the groove, the recess being shaped so as to receive the crank handle in the rest position without any projection above the outer face of the flange. The crank handle can include a narrow circular end portion which, in the operative position, comes to abut against the cubic body of the pivoting shaft. This eliminates contact between the crank handle and flange during winding, and reduces frictional resistance to winding.

The drum and its flange in which the groove and recess are provided can be made in a single piece, and the pivoting shaft, central body and second shaft can be made in another single piece, so that the number of constituent parts can be made very low.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of the outer face of a flange on the tape drum of a tape measure, with a crank handle in a rest-position;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1, but with the crank handle in a winding position;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the inner face of the flange;

FIG. 4 is an edge elevational vidw of the flange, partly in crosssection taken along line IV-IV of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a cross-section taken along line V-V of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a crosssection taken along line VI-VI of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged-scale perspective view of a pivoting shaft of the crank handle.

The drawings show a tape drum 1 with an integral flange 2 adapted to be rotatably mounted in a known manner in a casing of a tape measure or tape rule, with a measuring tape (not shown) rolled on the drum 1,

and with the outer face of flange 2 accessible through an opening in the casing wall.

The flange 2 of drum 1 supports a driving crank handle 3 which can be folded down in a rest position in a rectangular recess 4 disposed in the outer surface of flange 2 with its longer edges parallel to and equally spaced in either side of a radial line. The handle 3 is pivotally mounted on flange 2 by means of a pivoting shaft (FIG. 7) including a cubic central portion extended by two cylindrical parts 5a and 5b protruding from opposite face of the central portion, this shaft 5 being lodged in a groove 6 in the inner face of flange 2. The groove 6 has parts 6a and 6b receiving parts 5a and 5b (see FIGS. 5 and 6) and an enlarged central portion adapted to receive the cubic portion of shaft 5, this central portion communicating with recess 4 in the outer face of flange 2. The handle 3 is mounted for sliding movement along and rotation about a shaft fixed in a cylindrical recess 5c in the cubic part of shaft 5, perpendicular to parts 5a, 5b defining the pivoting axis of shaft 5.

The groove 6 and pivoting axis 5 are located near to the peripheral edge of flange 2, i.e., eccentric to the flange 2 and drum 1.

Handle 3 is in the form of a flat, rectangular piece with a central longitudinal bore having an enlarged cylindrical inner portion 7 and a reduced cylindrical end portion 8 receiving shaft 10 which fits freely in portion 8 and has an enlarged head 12 fitting freely in portion 7. A compression spring 13 is disposed in portion 7 of the bore and acts between head 12 and a washer l4 applied against a shoulder of bore 8, whereby the handle 3 can be slid to the left from its position shown in FIG. 5 against the action of spring 13. The right hand end 3a of handle 3 (looking at FIG. 5) has, disposed about bore portion 8, a cylindrical central shoulder 9 of a height and width so that it can freely penetrate into the central part of groove 6. The distance e between parts 6a and 6b of the groove and face 4a of recess 4 is such that in the rest position the spring 13 is compressed, so that end 3a of the handle is applied against face 4a In the winding position (FIGS. 2 and 4), the shoulder 9 of handle 3 comes to rest against the cubic part of shaft 5 under the action of spring 13. The distance between the parts 6a, 6b of groove 6 and the outer face of flange 2, and the height of the shoulder 9 are chosen so that in this position the end face 3a of handle 3 is spaced apart from the outer face of flange 2, so that handle 3 can freely rotate about its shaft 10 as the flange 2 is turned with the handle 2 held in the users hand. An edge of recess 4 limits pivoting of handle 3 about shaft 5, and defines the rest position with shaft 10 parallel to the axis of rotation of flange 2 and drum 1, i.e., at 90 to its position when at rest.

The spring 13 serves as biasing means for holding button 3 either in its rest or winding position.

What is claimed is:

1. In a tape measure including a rotatable tape-drum having a rotary flange and a crank handle eccentrically mounted on the flange for rotatably driving the tapedrum, said flange having a recessed outer surface and said crank handle being mounted for pivotal movement between an actuating position extending outwardly of said outer surface and a stored position within said recess; the combination comprising an elongated groove in the inner surface of the flange juxtaposed the recess on the outer surface and having a central through aperture communicating with the recess, a first shaft mounted in said elongated groove and extending across said through aperture, said first shaft providing a pivot for movement of said handle between said actuating and stored positions, a second handle mounting shaft connected to said first shaft and extending outwardly through said aperture, said second shaft mounting the crank handle for rotary and axial movement relative thereto, and spring means mounted within the handle and cooperating with the second shaft for constantly biasing said handle toward said first shaft in both said actuating and stored positions.

2. Device according to claim 1, in which said drum and said flange are made in a single piece.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein said crank handle has a central bore slidably receiving said second shaft, said central bore having an enlarged cylindrical portion and a reduced end portion jointly defining an interior shoulder, said second shaft having a radially protruding abutment mounted in said enlarged cylindrical portion of the bore, and said spring means consisting of a compression spring disposed in said enlarged portion of the bore and acting against said abutment of said second shaft and said interior shoulder to bias said crank handle toward said first shaft.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein said first shaft is comprised of an enlarged central portion and two cylindrical coaxial side parts projecting from opposite sides of the central portion, said side parts being journaled in said elongated groove, said central portion having a flat face and said second shaft protruding from said flat face perpendicular to the axis of said side parts and said groove.

5. Device according to claim 4, in which said two cylindrical parts and said central portion of said first shaft are made in a single piece.

6. The device of claim 4, wherein one end of the crank handle is constantly in confronting relationship with said flat face of said central portion, said recess is provided with a shoulder against which the crank handle bears under the action of said spring means when the handle is in the stored position, said shoulder being spaced from said aperture, said one end of the crank handle bearing against said flat face of the central portion of said first shaft under the action of the spring means when the crank handle is in its actuating position and being held out of contact therewith by said shoulder when the handle is in its stored position.

7. The device of claim 1, including stop means for limiting pivoting movement of said second shaft about said first shaft between said actuating and stored postions to a movement of said stop means including a lower surface of said recess adapted to support said crank handle in said stored position and an end surface of said recess adapted to abut against said crank handle in said actuating position. 

1. In a tape measure including a rotatable tape-drum having a rotary flange and a crank handle eccentrically mounted on the flange for rotatably driving the tape-drum, said flange having a recessed outer surface and said crank handle being mounted for pivotal movement between an actuating position extending outwardly of said outer surface and a stored position within said recess; the combination comprising an elongated groove in the inner surface of the flange juxtaposed the recess on the outer surface and having a central through aperture communicating with the recess, a first shaft mounted in said elongated groove and extending across said through aperture, said first shaft providing a pivot for movement of said handle between said actuating and stored positions, a second handle mounting shaft connected to said first shaft and extending outwardly through said aperture, said second shaft mounting the crank handle for rotary and axial movement relative thereto, and spring means mounted within the handle and cooperating with the second shaft for constantly biasiNg said handle toward said first shaft in both said actuating and stored positions.
 2. Device according to claim 1, in which said drum and said flange are made in a single piece.
 3. The device of claim 1, wherein said crank handle has a central bore slidably receiving said second shaft, said central bore having an enlarged cylindrical portion and a reduced end portion jointly defining an interior shoulder, said second shaft having a radially protruding abutment mounted in said enlarged cylindrical portion of the bore, and said spring means consisting of a compression spring disposed in said enlarged portion of the bore and acting against said abutment of said second shaft and said interior shoulder to bias said crank handle toward said first shaft.
 4. The device of claim 1, wherein said first shaft is comprised of an enlarged central portion and two cylindrical coaxial side parts projecting from opposite sides of the central portion, said side parts being journaled in said elongated groove, said central portion having a flat face and said second shaft protruding from said flat face perpendicular to the axis of said side parts and said groove.
 5. Device according to claim 4, in which said two cylindrical parts and said central portion of said first shaft are made in a single piece.
 6. The device of claim 4, wherein one end of the crank handle is constantly in confronting relationship with said flat face of said central portion, said recess is provided with a shoulder against which the crank handle bears under the action of said spring means when the handle is in the stored position, said shoulder being spaced from said aperture, said one end of the crank handle bearing against said flat face of the central portion of said first shaft under the action of the spring means when the crank handle is in its actuating position and being held out of contact therewith by said shoulder when the handle is in its stored position.
 7. The device of claim 1, including stop means for limiting pivoting movement of said second shaft about said first shaft between said actuating and stored postions to a movement of 90*, said stop means including a lower surface of said recess adapted to support said crank handle in said stored position and an end surface of said recess adapted to abut against said crank handle in said actuating position. 